At the outset, I wish to thank the Government of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for convening this meeting. I do hope this meeting becomes an opportunity for the member States to review the issues and problems the Group faces.

Distinguished Colleagues,

It is my conviction that the capabilities in each and every member States and consequently the over-all capabilities of G15 entitles it to play a more significant role in the international affairs. Therefore, exploring proper ways and means to tap the real potentials of the G15 seems quite advisable. Undoubtedly, this has to be in line with the interests of both the Group as a whole and the individual member States.

Excellencies,

As you may recall, during the G15 Summit meeting in Tehran, the Ministers expressed their views on the importance of the Group specifically in the context of South-South cooperation as well as the North-South dialogue.

We as the members of a Group which constitutes one third of the world’s population should further our attempts to find ways for enhancing intra-group interactions. Through complementing each others’ development and economic requirements and by providing resources in different areas particularly in agriculture, productive industries, infrastructure and services, we can move towards achieving that objective.

Currently, investment outflow of the Group that happens outside the G15, amounts to 245 billion dollars. Taking into consideration that some powerful multinational companies exist amongst the G15 member States, foreign investment within the Group should match up with those outside.

Dear colleagues,

As you are well aware, so far several proposals have been made on how to implement the projects developed within the Group. Although the Group has been able to achieve some grounds in the recent years, unfortunately certain projects have not been implemented due to a number of reasons including lack of feasibility studies, insufficient financial resources, long time laps of the projects, lack of technical requirements and reluctance of other members to participate in implementing the projects. The Members have to be mindful of removing these obstacles to give the Group the credibility it deserves.

Meanwhile, having an efficient and competent Secretariat that is restructured and revitalized with clear lines of responsibilities to assist member States in overcoming the above-mentioned difficulties seems very much desirable.

Distinguished colleagues;

In line with revitalizing cooperations inside the Group, the Islamic Republic of Iran intends to host two sessions. One on “Water Resource Management” initially programmed for July 2011 which had to be rescheduled due to the late submission of applications. The other would be a session of G15 Experts on “Renewable Energies” which is being arranged as we speak. We hope when finalized, applications are submitted in due course.

Excellencies, dear colleagues,

Let me assure you that the Islamic Republic of Iran will spare no efforts to advance the Group’s objectives in all different areas.